The SQUARED Root

Archive for July, 2009

David J. Neff: A Social Media Natural

Posted by Mike Chapman on July 28th, 2009

I wasn’t at all surprised when I heard that my friend, David J. Neff, had been named as one of the top three non-profit marketers in the country for 2009 by the American Marketing Association and its foundation.  It’s not that I think it’s an easy accomplishment or that I take it lightly in any way. It’s a major and very prestigious award. It’s just that I’ve spent a good amount of time around David and I know he’s an extremely talented person and him winning seemed obvious.

What was nice about the award being given to David, from my perspective, was that a national organization with a great history and reputation would recognize the new kind of marketing that David is a leading innovator of. It was proof that the AMA appreciates the concepts of community that are the real value of social media marketing when done the way they should be done.
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The words that describe social media are familiar to most of us by now. Transparency, authenticity, real and long-term relationship development through conversational communications models are the ideals we strive for. What I love about David is that he intellectually understands all of this and actually conducts his business and his life in the same way and along the lines of the adjectives that fit the ideals listed. He doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk, to use phrase I rarely use because of its tremendous importance and the reverence I hold for the man who used it most famously.

What this means is that when you engage in conversation with David Neff online, you’re meeting the real person, not just an online version. When you see one of his now award-winning social media programs being implemented, you’re looking at an idea that is sincerely important to David. I know from being his friend that his work for the American Cancer Society is motivated by a sincere concern for the people the organization represents.

David J. Neff is not only the Director of Web, Film and Interactive Strategy for the American Cancer Society’s High Plains division, he is also the Executive Director of Lights. Camera. Help.

In his capacity at the American Cancer Society, David directs all web and interactive strategies and online properties for six states in addition to managing the division’s eRevenue strategy, social networking/media strategy, and online community strategy. As the executive director of Lights. Camera. Help., he is working to start the world’s first nonprofit-focused film festival.

David is a two-time recipient of a Futuring and Innovations grant, which he used to create C-Tools and SharingHope.TV. C-Tools was the first PDA software tool for the prevention of cancer developed by the American Cancer Society, and SharingHope.TV is the nonprofit world’s first totally user-generated content Web site. In 2009, the Austin American-Statesman recognized David as one of the top 25 Social Media People in the state of Texas.

I’ve been involved in efforts with David around helping the homeless, the hungry and those in need of special medical attention. He has a seemingly endless amount of energy and a heart the size of the internet. We’re lucky David calls Austin home and I’m fortunate to have him as a friend.

This weekend is the first Non-Profit Film Festival hosted by Lights.Camera.Help. Tickets are still available. See you there.

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Courtney Ryan Buie: Austin’s Creative Class Personified

Posted by Mike Chapman on July 16th, 2009

One of my most often repeated themes is that Austin is the creative capital of the country. I didn’t make it up. I took it from Richard Florida’s book, “Rise of the Creative Class.” According to Florida, Austin comes out ahead of all the other U.S. cities for having the right mix of technology, talent and tolerance in our community. We have an abundance of techies of all kinds. We have very talented artists, musicians, actors and creatives. Combine that with some of the most tolerant people anywhere in the world, and you have Austin.

This past week we held the first organizational meeting of the Austin Interactive Initiative, an economic development initiative that a group of us are starting and hoping to recruit others to join. The purpose of the Aii is to find ways to let the world know just how much talent there actually is here in Austin and what a great place to business it is. Ultimately we want to convince outside entities to always have Austin on its short-list when consdering where to search out smart and talented people and companies for their interactive needs.

Of the many, really outstanding people who attended the meeting, in my view one attendee really epitomizes the qualities of tech, tolerance and talent that make us the creative capital – Courtney Ryan Buie.

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Courtney has been an active member of the Austin music scene for years, she’s been highly involved with SXSW and has her own production company, Slip Productions. Courtney is an interactive marketing expert for FG SQUARED, putting her squarely in the mix of techies who are an important component of the interactive scene of Austin and critical to the economic development efforts taking shape in this space.

I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time getting to know Courtney. She really fits my image of what makes Austin’s creative talent so unique because of her empathy and tolerance. Courtney combines an ability to be truly good at business and still be a kind and generous person with a sincere and deep concern for others.

Many of us in Austin refer to our home as the “Oasis of Texas.” The reason that’s so true is because of the many, many people who could easily live anywhere else in the world and succeed wildly, but choose to stay in Austin and then are part of making it the great and very creative place that it is. For me, Courtney is individual proof that we are a collection of some of the smartest, most talented people anywhere.

Note – Courtney has a very special, four-legged friend who is battling cancer and needs our help. His name is Booker and you can read all about him by going to http://slipaustin.tumblr.com for info or paypal to crcooper@usa.com. Any help you can provide would be great.

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Sherry Lowry: Community Defined

Posted by Mike Chapman on July 7th, 2009

One of the more effective ways to build community that I’ve had the chance to be a part of is an emerging trend called coworking. The Wikipedia definition of coworking explains it almost perfectly, “the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space.” It’s an amazing thing to be around talented people who are willing to give without necessarily getting anything in return other than the development of a relationship with another human being.

When I think of shared values, independence, synergy and talented people, I often think about of a member of our thriving interactive community I’ve had the distinct pleasure of getting to know while coworking and in other gatherings and groups that make up our community.

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Sherry Lowry, in my view, embodies everything good about the concept of community. She has a wealth of knowledge from leadership roles she’s been involved with in business and her non-profit pursuts and a seemingly endless willingness to share it with all of us in her ever-expanding community of associates and friends.

Sherry is a full time, professional business mentor and a collaboration and alliance coach. She uses her keen ability to see the strengths people have and to help them realize their potential. The fact that she is a self-described serial entrepreneur gives you an idea that she can get down to the bottom line when either coaching, collaborating or contemplating her own next moves.

Needless to say, there is a large group of us who are extremely impressed with Sherry’s business acumen and skill. What really catches my attention and is the source of a growing buzz in the Austin Interactive scene is Sherry Lowry’s willingness to be almost selfless in her approach to the rest of the individuals in the community.

All of my dealings with Sherry have left me with the experience of a completely generous and genuine human being who cares about her fellow professionals, coworkers and even passing acquaintances. Writing this post reminds me that I need to seek out the opportunities to cowork more often with Sherry Lowry. I’m making a mental note now to be sure to arrange my schedule to be where Sherry is and to listen and learn as much as I can from her.

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